Monitoring Desk: The first meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee established under the 26th Constitutional Amendment approved by both Houses of Parliament was held in which Justice Yahya Afridi was unanimously nominated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The closed-door meeting of the 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee was held in Committee Room 5 of the Parliament House. Three members of the Sunni Ittehad Council Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar, and Hamid Raza boycotted the meeting as expected – the committee agreed on the name of Justice Yahya Afridi by a two-thirds majority.
The nominated Justice Yahya Afridi belongs to erstwhile FATA and has served the law without any political bias in his career, he is the most suitable person for the post of Chief Justice. It is known about him that he is a serious thinking judge without any bias, making decisions only in the light of the constitution and law, whose rule has always been free from any kind of controversy.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Yahya Afridi received his primary education from Aitchison College, Lahore, and graduated from Government College, Lahore, while he received his MA in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore. Justice Yahya Afridi also obtained an LLM degree from Cambridge University on a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Justice Yahya Afridi started practicing law in the High Court in 1990 and started practicing as a Supreme Court lawyer in 2004. Justice Yahya Afridi also served as Assistant Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Justice Yahya Afridi was appointed as an Additional Judge of Peshawar High Court in 2010, while he was appointed as a permanent judge on 15 March 2012. On 30 December 2016, Justice Yahya Afridi was appointed to the Peshawar High Court. He took the oath of office of the Chief Justice of the Court and on 28 June 2018, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Legal experts say that Justice Yahya Afridi has been a part of many important decisions in the past, but Justice Yahya Afridi did not make himself controversial in any case and he continued to give judgment only according to the constitution and law. Justice Yahya Khan Afridi is considered as an impartial and non-controversial judge in all circles due to his decisions.
In the opinion of legal experts, formal reforms have been started in the judicial system since the 26th constitutional amendment, a clear example of which is the Supreme Court, where in the previous periods, the post of Chief Justice was provided to a judge only based on seniority. There was a tradition, but with the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi, this tradition has ended and now the decision is based on merit alone, which is a welcome process.
According to legal experts, the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as Chief Justice, like Qazi Faiz Isa who hails from Balochistan, is an example of a significant shift from smaller provinces to merit-based selection.
The two figures, who hail from the historically backward regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, prove that people of potential from every corner of Pakistan can rise to the country’s highest judicial ranks.
Legal experts also say that after ten years the Chief Justice has been appointed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and for the first time this honor has been won from a tribal region. The appointment of Justice Afridi is being considered as a powerful message to those who are raising voices for rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This appointment reflects that the rights and representation of the people of the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are now being given a central place, which will be a sign of lasting justice.
Legal experts also say that the government has succeeded in its test – just as the first fruit of the 26th constitutional amendment has come out in the form of a new chief justice, similarly the constitutional bench will also play its role under this amendment. will hear only constitutional judgments while the Supreme Court and High Courts will focus on civil and criminal cases to eliminate the backlog, which will undoubtedly reduce public interest in the judiciary.
Monitoring Desk: The 16th BRICS summit kicked off in Kazan on October 22. It will consist of two parts. The first is a meeting of the organization’s member countries, which will be devoted to “Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.” The second part is a meeting in the “BRICS Plus/Outreach” format, the topic of which will be “BRICS and the Global South – Jointly Building a Better World.”
On the event’s final day, delegates will participate in two plenary sessions in the BRICS+ format, after which the Kazan Declaration will be adopted. Russian President Vladimir Putin will announce the Kazan Declaration on 24 October during a press conference.
BRICS was initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa – has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have formally applied for membership, and a few other countries have expressed interest in joining.
Why are developing countries showing interest in BRICS?
The BRICS summit is the largest international event in Russia after Russia – Ukraine conflict started. It is difficult to come up with a more visual demonstration that all attempts by the West to “isolate Russia” have failed, but in principle, it became clear in 2022, and after what Israel has staged in Gaza (and now in Lebanon), the lies of Western calls to “meet the whole world to punish the aggressor” became clear even to the most simple-minded amateurs.
The symbolic significance of 24 countries attending the event is a fundamental jolt to Western hegemony in international affairs. The growth and popularity of BRICS cannot be understood in isolation from the largest transformation of the world order. BRICS was created less than two decades ago, but even then, in 2006, it was clear that the world was entering a new era. The formation of a new world order began – and although neither the speed of this process nor the intensity of the struggle was yet clear, everyone understood that the scale of the changes would be huge and universal. Just a few months after the formation of the BRIC (then the unification consisted of four countries), Vladimir Putin made a speech in which he warned about the futility of the attempts of the West (and the first stage of the United States) for the construction of a unipolar world.
The next year, 2008, the global financial crisis broke out, for which the United States was entirely in, and given that it was they who controlled the global financial system, it was the entire planet to pay the bills for American greed. By this point, the United States had already turned Iraq, a key country in the Middle East, so that the “Arab Spring” that began three years later with its grave consequences for the entire region was predetermined. In 2014, Russia entered into an open geopolitical conflict with the West when NATO attempted to take over Ukraine; resulting in a series of economic sanctions over Russia. Since then, the West has been weakened within it, while the Global South has been strengthened. The weakening of the West was an objective process that had geopolitical, historical, economic, and other explanations but the main thing is the reality that the old era of Western domination is over and this is manifested in the form of the collapse of the globalization project under the Anglo-Saxon rules, which the main bet was made in the United States and Europe. Globalization was not completed but it began to fall not because of Russia or China but because the protectionist approach of the West was fundamentally against Western Globalisation. Visa restrictions, economic sanctions, and soft coups against individual countries of the Global South confirmed to the developing world that Western Globalisation had errors in its very design. Moreover, constant sanctions, color revolutions, Arab Spring, and other kinds of interference in developing countries resulted in a soft coup against the West and it became impossible for the West to make the whole world live according to the rules written in the West (political, financial, economic, trade, cultural, ideological). In these circumstances, the BRICS offered the developing world a platform that was non-hegemonic, based on the principles of non-interference and challenging the protectionist approach of the West. Over the years, the West has weakened even more, and this concerns not only its position on the world stage but also its internal state. US defeat in Afghanistan woke up Europe that the US could not be a net security provider and the EU started arranging its security dynamics. This does not mean that America no longer has the strength to fight for the retention of the position of the world hegemon. Therefore, America will try to restrict those whom it sees as a real or potential threat to its hegemony.
Is BRICS challenging Western hegemony?
The fact is that the bloc will have to become more and more anti-American – not because its goal is to confront the United States, but because the United States itself will not leave it alone. For America, any projects for the construction of an alternative global architecture (financial, trade, military) are categorically unacceptable, especially those that unite the key countries of the non-Western world – such as China, India, Russia, the Arab world, and Latin Americans. The United States will increase pressure on the BRICS countries to prevent or at least slow their movement toward the integration of the same financial systems.
BRICS did not ask about the expansion until 2022 – and only then did the association begin to receive new members. Of the six guests (and those who were entrenched) one country fell off immediately: Argentina, when the pro-American and anti-Chinese-minded President Mirei came to power. Saudi Arabia has a little stalled; Prince Mohammed has taken a pause, and a full-fledged accession to BRICS may not be confirmed at the current summit in Kazan.
However, Iran, Egypt, the UAE, and Ethiopia joined the BRICS, which from the “five” became the “nine”. With this expansion, BRICS has already become a truly global association, because before it was not represented by the two-billion Islamic world at all, and now there are as many as three countries from it. A few important countries of the Islamic world are in line: even if the issue with Saudi Arabia is still raised, many Muslim states have shown interest like Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia.
Of course, there are many disagreements between the BRICS countries. The most notable are the Sino-Indian (although on the sidelines of this summit will be the first official meeting of Xi Jinping and Modi in four and a half years – they have not held negotiations since the border conflict in the Gymalayas in the spring of 2020). However, the existing differences are nothing compared to what unites the BRICS+ countries, and this is an understanding that the West has neither the right nor the ability to impose its “picture of the world order” on everyone else. Within the BRICS, there will always be disagreements over the desired speed and methods of new trading currencies, but no one questions the fact that the end of Western hegemony meets the interests of all countries that consolidate around the BRICS.
The issue of full-fledged accession of new members to BRICS this year is not on the agenda as the BRICS association has almost doubled in size, and those who have just joined have not yet fully adjusted. It is not easy to combine further expansion with the effectiveness of practical work.
There will be no decision about prospects for creating a single BRICS currency at this Summit but different ideas will be discussed and the decision will be taken through consensus.
Does Ukraine matter for BRICS members?
The BRICS countries have agreed on the wording of Ukraine, which will be included in the final declaration of the summit. The wording has already been agreed upon, no one has any objections to it. A common position, a common approach that was agreed upon for inclusion in the declaration.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for attending BRICS stating Guterres’ participation in the BRICS summit will not help establish peace, but will only harm the reputation of the UN.
The conflict in Ukraine was mentioned by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the start of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Indian media reported that India is in favor of resolving problems by peaceful means and supports the speedy restoration of peace and stability.
The Reorientation of Global Trade
Anti-Russian sanctions are leading to the fact that the Russian Federation is curtailing trade with the West, while, on the contrary, increasing it with the BRICS countries. Russia’s trade turnover with the BRICS countries grew by 6.3% in the first five months. Positive dynamics are also expected for the entire year of 2024. In 2023, Russian trade to BRICS countries recorded a 28% increase compared to 2022.
Russia’s foreign trade for January- July 2024 increased by 20.25% compared to the previous year, to $87.9 billion. Exports for the reporting period increased by $1.8 billion and reached $241 billion, while imports decreased by $13 billion, to $153.1 billion. Thus, Russia’s trade turnover decreased by 2.8% in January-July 2024 compared to the same period last year, amounting to $394.1 billion. Russian exports to Asia grew in the first half of 2024. It increased by $12 billion compared to 2023, while the total value of exports in all directions remained almost unchanged. Russia – China trade is increasing but the issue of payments remains to be resolved due to certain Western restrictions. Even small regional banks in China began to increasingly refuse to accept payments from the Russian Federation, although they had previously worked with Russian businesses. Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Kazan and the key objective of the Kazan meeting is to lay the groundwork for reforming the global financial system where multilateral payments are possible even in the presence of Western sanctions against Russia, China, and Iran. The leaders of 22 countries are taking part in the BRICS Summit and their meetings would cover issues of financial cooperation within the group.
The railways of Russia, Mongolia, and China have confirmed plans to increase freight traffic through the Russia—Mongolia—China railway corridor. The parties confirmed plans to increase the volume of cargo transportation by the Ulaanbaatar Railway to 50 million tons by 2030 and to 90 million tons by 2050. A second narrow-gauge track will be put into operation at the Dzamyn-Uud station, which will allow receiving more trains from the Chinese railway.
Sideline Meetings at BRICS
UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over an informal dinner at the Russian leader’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow. During the meeting, Putin said that all agreements between the UAE and the Russian Federation are being fulfilled and fully correspond to the level of strategic partnership. He also pointed out that trade turnover between the countries has tripled over the past three years. Mutual investments have reached US$7 billion. About 60 projects totalling US$2 billion are being implemented through sovereign funds.
Modi met Pezeshkian
Indian Prime Minister Modi and Iranian President Pezeshkian held a meeting at Kazan and both discussed the ME situation as well as of alarming situation in Afghanistan.
Monitoring Desk: Indian incompetence was once again exposed after a loud explosion in the ordnance factory in the city of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, India.
At least 15 people were injured and 2 killed in the blast that took place at the Central Security Institute Ordnance Factory in Khamariya, where bombs and explosives are manufactured.
Ordnance Factory Khumariya is one of the major ammunition production units under the Indian Department of Defense Production India’s inability to ensure arms handling and safety standards is proven by various incidents in the past Accidents involving artillery ammunition, missiles, fighter jets, and weapons continue to occur in India every day. According to Indian media:
“The explosion occurred in the refilling section of the factory” Out of the 15 injured, two people succumbed to their injuries Indian during the bomb loading process, and a hydraulic system failure occurred in building number 200 of the F-6 section of the factory. The main reason for the increasing trend of these accidents in India is poor safety standards and arrangements. India is at the forefront of the arms race in the region, but substandard training and poor security arrangements mask Indian incompetence”, NDTV reported.
Monitoring Desk: Over 3,000 media representatives have registered themselves for covering COP29 to be held in Baku Azerbaijan on November 11-22, 2024, reports state-run news agency Azertac.
Photo by Azertac
Referring to Ayan Najaf, a member of the Coordination Council of the COP29 Operating Company, the news agency added that the final registration deadline is set for October 30 at 23:00 (GMT+4). Azerbaijan is ready to host COP29 and is committed to developing its renewable energy potential and following a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2050.
Monitoring Desk: The BRICS Summit has started in Kazan Russia under the presidency of Russia. The Summit will have three key tracks (pointers), including politics and security, the economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian ties among member states.
Officially, BRICS is an informal group of states; therefore, it cannot be compared with any other global group, such as SCO, NATO, SAARC, the African Union, the European Union, etc.
As many as 24 countries will be represented by their heads and eight by their senior officials in the Kazan Summit that will conclude on October 24, 2024. The theme of the Summit is “strengthening multilateralism for just global development and security” and the event will be attended by four new members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Representatives of Turkiye, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Thailand, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nigeria will also attend the event as non-members because they have applied for their membership.
When asked to comment, Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute & Pakistan-Africa Institute for Development and Research (PAIDAR) Mushahid Hussain Syed said that BRICS is an important pillar of the emerging alternate global order, reflecting the new ground realities in the international system where the center of global gravity has shifted from the West to the Global South.
“BRICS will seek to promote what are, in my opinion, 3 Key D’s: Democratisation of international relations, multipolarity requiring a multilateral approach; Demilitarization of International Relations, a world connected through commerce & culture rather than a militaristic mindset seeking conflict & cold war; Dedollarisation, sobering there’s genuine free trade not use of Dollar & Trade as a weapon seeking sanctions and financial control”, responded Mushahid Syed.
When asked to comment, senior journalist and Editor of Express Tribune Naveed Hussain, believed that the West looks at BRICS as a potential future threat as nine BRICS nations make up 28.3% of the world’s land area and 44.6% of its population with their combined GDP of $29 trillion and representing 27.4% of the global economy.
Foreign Affairs expert and author Shazia Anwer Cheema when asked to comment, believed that the future of the global economy lies with Global South and BRICS as well as SCO would soon tail each other instead of moving parallel because both demand a new world order based on collective economic strategy, multilateral trade and cooperation to build a peaceful world where sanctions would not increase poverty and protectionism would not be the order of the day.
Dr Sajjad Bokhari, a senior journalist and anchor who focuses on foreign affairs was of the view India that is founding member of BRICS will try its best to block Pakistan’s membership because New Delhi knows that the presence of Pakistan in BRICS would consolidate the Chinese position over trans-border economy and road networking and India recently rejected Chinese Road and Belt Initiative in recently held SCO Summit in Islamabad. According to Dr Sajjad, India would try to influence BRICS as it did SAARC and make the platform a dead wood. However, he added that India would fail because BRICS Russia and China as well as Brazil are far stronger and bigger countries than India.
Islamabad, Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal will be the chief guest at the Data-Fest 2024, set to take place today on October 21-22, 2024 at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad.
This inaugural event brings together data experts, policymakers, researchers, and thought leaders to explore the pivotal role of data in shaping Pakistan’s future across sectors. Key sessions will focus on data-driven governance, fiscal resilience, disaster risk management, climate adaptation, and more.
Event Highlights:
• Keynote speeches from global data experts
• Thematic panel discussions on crucial national issues
• Data innovation displays and interactive workshops
• Networking opportunities with industry leaders and decision-makers
According to an official press release, the National Data Fest is a key event for sharing knowledge, developing skills, fostering innovation, and encouraging collaboration in the field of data. As data becomes more crucial in our lives, this fest highlights its importance. It’s a place for professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts to come together, celebrate, and innovate. Beyond just skills and technology, the fest aims to build connections, boost economic growth, and push our nation towards data-driven progress.
Data-fest 2024 is more than just an event; it’s a celebration of how data can drive decision-making, spark creativity, and lead us to a future of knowledge and collaboration. This festival focuses on the vital role of data in improving life and starts a series of projects aimed at using data for societal good.
October is celebrated as a breast cancer awareness month. This month is dedicated to raising awareness about breast cancer and how it can be prevented. I am taking this opportunity to talk about the women who are living with breast cancer and the myths we used to associate with people having cancer.
Living with breast cancer or with any cancer is scary. This is especially true for breast cancer because patients are relatively young and are usually mothers having children. We have attributed living with cancer to a battle or race. Imagine the arena of the Olympics and somebody is running a race and people are motivating him to run, fast, and run. There is a lot of adrenaline rush and that helps the player to perform well. On battlefields, people are motivated to give their lives for certain purposes. It is helpful there also. Now imagine someone living with an advanced stage of cancer, she is vomiting and having pain, undergoing chemotherapy lying in bed thinking about the future of her and her children. It has no resemblance with the high emotions of racetrack or war. But we use it often, as someone is fighting a battle. Usage of these military terminologies may have been thought to have some benefit. But it is counterproductive.
Living with cancer is not a short-term race or a limited period fight it is lifetime coping. There are no winners or losers. When we say it is a battle then people who are unable to overcome it think of themselves as a loser. If we make it a battle, then people whose cancer is advancing sometimes believe it is their fault that they did not fight properly. Living with cancer is awful, scary, and boring. A positive attitude helps you to cope with any setback in life and makes your healing better. But a genuinely positive attitude comes from acceptance of reality first. You cannot motivate people to alternate the facts and there is no sense of heroism or romanticism attached to cancer. Although a positive attitude helps you in almost everything, believing that cancer patients should have a positive attitude all the time is also a myth. Without properly working on your feelings and feeling them genuinely, a positive attitude has no importance. It is a major disease and in the advanced stage, there is no cure. So talking about your feelings genuinely rather than suppressing them is more helpful. It is harmful to feel or look more positive than you are.
Thirty percent of people have depression and anxiety and need the help of a therapist. Encouraging them to seek help is important. I do understand this language of fighting battle is used to evoke strength in unimaginably difficult times. But remember that living with cancer is not running a race, in which you can motivate people to run fast. So putting pressure of fighting on patients can have the opposite effect. We should challenge this idea and break away from how we are conditioned to think like that. Cancer is from our cells. Having a war with ourselves is not a pleasant experience. What we can do instead is live as well as possible. Coping, gentle positivity, setting short achievable goals. Drawing support from closed ones are some answers.
While dealing with breast cancer patients, I often tell them, that they should not feel that they are contributing to their cancer when they are having a bad day and they cannot be positive. Truth is when you are on chemotherapy or dealing with the pain of advanced cancer you cannot be positive. Our body does not work in this way. We cannot be vomiting and positive at the same time. So having a positive attitude all the time with this devastating condition is a myth.
What we can do is take positive action. Accepting the pain, showing up for appointments, taking proper medical and self-care, staying socially connected, and communicating with loved ones are helpful strategies. So instead of necessarily thinking everything is great taking action is more important. If that is meant by a necessary positive attitude. But we cannot deny the reality that it takes a physical and emotional toll on the patient and acceptance of this is very important. One of my patients with advanced breast cancer while talking about her legitimate feeling said. She wakes up at night and looks at the faces of her children thinking that it may be the last time. So having cancer, particularly breast cancer which happens at a younger age you have to think and re-plan so many things. You have many unfulfilled dreams. Although it can teach you the importance of living each day, it is tiring. Making small attainable goals like attending the graduation of a child can help. You can be gently positive and allow yourself to process your feelings and accept reality. That is not going to affect the natural course of disease.
Early detection of breast cancer is important. This is a cancer of the external organ so if we keep examining our breasts once a month and notice small changes on the skin and inside. We can detect any change at an almost curable and very early stage. We cannot see or feel what is happening in our liver but we can do that about the breast. So breast self-awareness is important. It has a definite early stage and treatment at the early stage is a difference of life and death.
A generally healthy lifestyle like eating a healthy plant-based diet, being physically active, and sleeping well free of stress can reduce the chances of the development of all types of cancers. Mammography is gradually losing its importance for early detection. So awareness of breasts is the most important thing we can do. For full advice on the prevention of breast cancer readers are referred to my article about breast cancer in October 2023.
The author Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.
Reporting from Press Galleries of the Parliament is part and parcel of the life of every reporter who covers parliamentary affairs. After 35 years in journalism, I am losing interest in covering the Parliament for many reasons and one of them is live coverage available on the television screen. However, events such as constitution amendments are pertinent so covering them is a privilege for a journalist instead of merely reporting them.
The morning scenes of October 21, 2024, were engulfed by farcical comedy performed by the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan. His theatrical performance was his long speech on the package of the 26th Constitutional Amendment. Omar is the son of Gohar Ayub. Gohar was a son of the first dictator of Pakistan Ayub Khan. Omar was telling the House how much democracy was important for him. There is no doubt that Pakistan’s Parliament is a deck of 26 jokers who gathered in the Parliament House to pass the 26th Constitutional Amendment and the majority of jokers was surely led by Omar Ayub Khan and his “farcical comedy’ amused all of us sitting in the Press Gallery who had been working since the morning of October 20 and were too tired. Thank you Omar for providing us with such excellent entertainment. Jokers were not sitting only on opposition benches and the speech of Moulana Fazal-ur-Rehman cited some of them without naming them sitting at “Ayes” benches as well. He rightfully mentioned the political situation that marred the scenes of the last 20 days. Whatever was happening the day before passing the 26th constitutional amendment can be narrated in the couplet of the famous poet Abdul Hameed Adam. He says
Adm samajh may kuch nahi aata
Aah raha hun kay ja raha hun main
(Adm I do not understand whether I am coming or going).
As Adam did not understand anything about the situation referring to the above-mentioned couplet, the majority of parliamentarians were confused by the way this amendment package was introduced to them although it had no confusion, nothing scary, and nothing complex. Munir Niazi, a poet of his genre says
Ye hum hain khud ko saza dene wale
Munir iss zamaane mein rehbar bohat hein
Haqiqat ko uljhan bana dene wale
(It is we who punish ourselves, the leaders of this age, who confuse the truth)
The confusion that was deliberately spread resulted in compromising very pertinent amendments demanded by the realities of the country including a much-needed judicial reform that could ensure speedy justice in the country to fight out reemerging terrorism. Alas, the public has to wait for this even after the 26th constitutional amendment has been passed.
Now we have to live with “something is better than nothing” and the silver lining is that the 26th constitutional amendment has been passed with a two-thirds majority and with full consultation. It has achieved a very decisive and significant milestone. Parliament restored its supremacy by meaningfully amending the balance of judicial powers which had completely tilted towards the judiciary after the 19th Constitutional Amendment and this development is very welcoming for the whole of Pakistan, which will surely lead to far-reaching results regarding the performance of Pakistan’s judiciary and the supremacy of Parliament.
Instead of the old method of picking the most senior judge for the appointment of the Chief Justice, now a twelve-member special parliamentary committee will select one of the names of the three senior-most judges as the Chief Justice. With this key process, the judiciary’s monopoly of making the most senior judge as Chief Justice has ended and like other important institutions, the Chief Justice will be appointed on merit in the Supreme Court.
The procedure of appointment of Supreme Court judges has also been brought under the influence of the Parliament, in which the Supreme Court judges will be appointed by the Commission. The commission headed by the Chief Justice will include four senior judges. The Federal Law Minister and Attorney General will also be members of the commission. A lawyer nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council with at least 15 years of experience will be a member of the commission for two years. Two members of the National Assembly and two members of the Senate will be part of the commission. A woman or a non-Muslim with the qualifications of a technocrat in the Senate will also be made a member of the commission for two years. In this process too, the principle of parliamentary supremacy has been highlighted in line with democratic values.
A Judicial Commission will determine the number of constitutional benches and judges. As far as possible, the Constitution Benches will have equal judges from all the provinces. The Constitution Benches will have the power of suo motu notice under Article 184. Cases related to the interpretation of the Constitution under Article 185 will come under the jurisdiction of the Constitution Benches. The Constitution Bench will consist of at least five judges. The judges of the Constitution Benches will be appointed by a committee of the three most senior judges. This important amendment will significantly increase the efficiency of the judiciary as the Constitution Bench will hear only constitutional matters. The cases related to the Supreme Court will continue to be heard as usual, this will also close the way for the judiciary to intervene in government matters.
Likewise, no court, tribunal, or authority can question the advice sent by the Prime Minister or the Cabinet to the President of the State therefore the powers of the Executives would not be challenged and will able Executives to focus on governance and performance.
A procedure for the performance of judges has also been formulated in which the commission will evaluate the performance of the judges of the High Court and if a judge does not improve his performance, his case can be referred to the Judicial Council.
All Supreme Court and High Court judges must have Pakistani citizenship, in addition to extensive experience as a lawyer, and lower court judges.
The aim of the rest of the amendments is to improve the performance of the judiciary for the people so that judicial affairs can be conducted according to democratic values keeping in mind the principles of the supremacy of the parliament.
I hope the government will review its political team that was responsible for finding a smooth way forward by building trust among all parties for getting their support because this time its team did well for spreading confusion instead of mitigating it. Out of all that happened in the last 20 days, Chairman PPP (Parliamentarian) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari emerged as an excellent ‘interlocutor’ who executed the assignment by building the bridges that were damaged by the unskilled laborers.
Islamabad, Pakistan: In a historic move, the parliament of Pakistan reclaimed its supremacy, which had been encroached upon by the higher judiciary, by rewriting the constitution by giving verdicts on different constitutional petitions.
One of the significant events of the day was PTI’s decision not to vote for the abolition interest-based economy (Soodi Nizam) in the country, raising the brows of a majority of journalists present in the Press Galleries of the Senate as well as of the National Assembly. PTI decided to absentia status during the 26th Constitutional amendment which is also known as the Constitutional amendment package. However, PTI had an opportunity to support the abolition of an interest-based economy when voting was being done ‘clause by clause’. Even those journalists who are known as PTI’s sympathizers were expecting that PTI would vote in favor of removing the interest-based economy in the country.
Senior journalists present in Parliament House such as Jawwad Faizi, Ijaz Ahmed, Dr Sajjad Bokhari, Ahmed Mansoor, and Tariq Ch when asked to comment on PTI’s decision to avoid voting on the abolition of an interest-based economy in the country, were of the view that PTI could not see beyond its founding Chairman and for PTI everything starts and end at him.
Voting in the Senate exposed that the allegation of PTI’s Chairman Barrister Gohar against PTI’s Senators Zarqa and Faisal Saleem was false and they did not vote for treasury benches and did not defect their party.
The government and the allies have finally passed the 26th Constitutional Amendment and this was a historic constitutional decision to establish parliamentary supremacy over the judiciary of the government. Instead of appointing the Chief Justice, the old method of appointing a senior most judge, now a twelve-member special parliamentary committee will select one of the names of three senior Most Judges as Chief Justice, whose final approval is Prime Minister.
The parliamentary committee will have a proportional representation of all parliamentary parties. This key process has ended the monopoly of the judiciary itself as the Chief Justice of the judiciary.
The procedure for the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court has also been imposed under the influence of the parliament in which the Supreme Court judges will appoint a commission. The commission, headed by the Chief Justice, will include four senior judges. The Federal Minister for Law and Attorney General will also be members of the commission. The lawyer nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council, who has been experienced for less than 15 years, will be a member of the Commission for two years. Two members will be part of the National Assembly and two members of the Senate Commission. – A woman or non -Muslim with a technocratic qualification in the Senate will also be made a member of the commission for two years.
Similarly, the formation of a constitutional bench the Judicial Commission will determine the number of constitutional benches and judges. Constitutional benches will be appointed as equal judges from all the provinces as far as possible under Article 184, the self-novice will be authorized by the Constitutional Benches. Cases related to the interpretation of the Constitution will be under constitutional benches under Article 185. The constitutional bench will consist of at least five judges. A committee of three senior judges will appoint constitutional benches.
This important amendment will increase the judiciary’s performance significantly as the constitutional bench will only listen to constitutional matters while the rest of the public. The cases related to the Supreme Court will continue to be as usual.
Similarly, no court, tribunal, or authority can raise questions on the advice sent by the Prime Minister or the Cabinet to the President. This will eliminate the judiciary’s government’s administrative affairs and the government with full independence.
The performance of the judges has also been developed. The Commission will review the performance of the High Court Judges, and if a judge does not improve his performance, his case will be sent to the Judicial Council.
Pakistani citizenship of all the Supreme Court and High Court judges is mandatory. In addition, their extensive experience of advocacy, and the experience of being a judge in the lower court also include a prerequisite.
Therefore, the 26th amendment to its Pakistani constitutional and judicial history is a milestone, which will certainly improve the supremacy of parliament in Pakistan and the judiciary’s performance.
What are important amendments?
Addition of Article 9A (clean and healthy environment) and amendments to Articles 38 (promotion of social and economic well-being of the people), 48 (president to act on advice, etc), and 81 (expenditure charged upon Federal Consolidated Fund) of the Constitution.
No court will be able to question the recommendations sent to the President or the Prime Minister by the cabinet. The draft also includes a proposal to increase the number of members in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan by amending Article 175A (appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court, High Courts, and the Federal Shariat Court).
The Supreme Judicial Commission will include the chief justice, four senior judges from the Supreme Court, and four members of Parliament. Among these, one senator and one member of the National Assembly will be nominated by the PM while another senator and another member will be nominated by the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
The parliamentary committee responsible for judicial appointments will consist of 12 members, with eight from the National Assembly and four from the Senate.
Instead of directly appointing a senior judge as chief justice of the Supreme Court, the proposal states that three names will be submitted to the parliamentary committee. This 12-member committee will recommend one of these names for the chief justice position. Subsequently, the prime minister will advise the President to issue a notification regarding the appointment.
The term for the chief justice will be three years. If a Chief Justice reaches the retirement age of 65 during this period, they will still be considered to have served a full three-year term. If a high court judge’s performance is deemed unsatisfactory, the Supreme Judicial Council will provide the judge with an opportunity to improve. If the judge fails to enhance their performance within the designated timeframe, the matter will be addressed by the Supreme Judicial Council. The Judicial Council can establish separate rules and regulations to evaluate the performance of judges.
Amendment to Sub-clause 3 of Section 184 regarding the Supreme Court’s power to take suo motu notices. It states that the Supreme Court will not have the authority to take notice of any matter or to issue directions to any institution.
A three-member committee of Supreme Court judges, established under the Practice and Procedure Act, will make decisions regarding whether or not to take notice of a case.
The amendment allows the SC to transfer cases from one high court to another if it believes that justice is not being served in an ongoing case.
An amendment to Clause 1 of Article 199 of the Constitution, now referred to as Clause 1A, which pertains to the high court’s power to take suo motu notices.
The high court shall not have the authority to take suo motu notices on any matter or issue directives to any institution.
The judicial commission would determine the number of constitutional benches and judges, ensuring that, where possible, equal representation of judges from all provinces is maintained in the constitutional benches.
Article 203D of the Constitution has been added, mandating that any appeal must be resolved by the relevant high court within 12 months. Article 191A has been added which pertains to the formation of constitutional benches.
Ankara, 20 October: On the invitation of President Erdogan’s AK Party, Mushahid Hussain Sayed gave a Keynote Address at the ‘Global Palestine Conference’ held here in the Turkish capital, where he presented a 3-point Action Plan.
President Erdogan was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Mushahid Hussain, who is a Member of the Executive Board of the Istanbul-based ‘Al Quds Parliament’ and Co-Chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), hailed the resistance of Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran to Israeli aggression and Zionist expansionism, terming these as exemplary models of ‘Might is not Right, but Right is Might’.
During his speech, Mushahid Hussain appreciated the leadership role of President Erdogan, terming him the ‘Lion of the Muslim World’, and congratulated him on his victory in the Turkish Presidential elections. Condemning Israel for committing the first televised genocide in history, Mushahid also condemned Western double standards and the absence of morality as they were actively aiding and abetting Israeli crimes, he added ‘most of the Muslim regimes have also failed to rise to the occasion due to either fear or expediency’.
Presenting his Action Plan before the gathering of some 1000 guests from over 50 countries, Mushahid said the first step should be for President Erdogan to take the lead and constitute an International Leaders Delegation, comprising leaders from the Global South, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Algeria and Brazil, who should visit Washington immediately after the November 5 US Presidential polls to meet the American President-elect, and urge the new US President to reverse the one-sided American policy of blatantly supporting Israel.
He said Muslim leaders must move beyond talk and words by taking concrete actions. Second, given their strong Navies, Turkiye, Pakistan, and Indonesia should form a Joint Naval Flotilla for Peace & Humanitarian Assistance, to help break the Israeli blockade of Gaza after getting authorization from the UN General Assembly. The Naval Flotilla should carry medicine, food, and relief goods to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians besieged in Gaza, terming it the ‘world’s largest open-air prison’. This will send a powerful and positive message to the oppressed Palestinian people that the Muslim Ummah is not an impotent entity, rather it has the vision and political will to undertake concrete initiatives. Third, recalling the joint initiative of President Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir in 2019 to launch a Global Media Initiative to represent the Muslim Ummah in the ‘battle of ideas and narratives’, Mushahid said ‘now is the right time and opportunity for such an initiative as the Gaza Genocide has demonstrated how biased and one-sided the Western media has been in the current crisis’.
He said journalists, intellectuals, academics, and think tanks could be powerful instruments in the ‘Battle of Ideas’ crafting and presenting narratives based on truth and facts, while representing the popular aspirations of the Global South in general and the Muslim World in particular on such issues as Palestine, Kashmir, Islamophobia, and Rohingya. He said such a Global Media Initiative would play an important role in helping to prepare the ground for an alternative emerging equitable global order based on justice and the rule of law which should start by rejecting of all types of hegemony, global or regional. He added that the sacrifices of the people of Palestine and Lebanon and the blood of the martyrs of Palestine and Kashmir would not go in vain. He concluded his very well-received speech by referencing the Latin maxim, ‘Carpe Diem’ (Seize the Moment).
Monitoring Desk: Indian incompetence was once again exposed after a loud explosion in the ordnance factory in the city of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh,...
Monitoring Desk: Over 3,000 media representatives have registered themselves for covering COP29 to be held in Baku Azerbaijan on November 11-22, 2024, reports state-run...
Monitoring Desk: The BRICS Summit has started in Kazan Russia under the presidency of Russia. The Summit will have three key tracks (pointers), including...
The author Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.
